It’s hard to believe but it’s already mid-November! Most of the farmers’ markets have wrapped up for the year and many of us have put away our grilling equipment. However, there’s no need to despair that summer is over. It’s now time for one of easiest and most delicious types of cooking: Braising!

There are a number of reasons to love braising:

It’s Cost Effective: Cooking inexpensive cuts of meat low-and-slow transforms them into meal that is tender and succulent. For less than $8.00, a pork shoulder can feed up to six people. As for equipment, all you’ll need is a pot with a heavy lid, a stovetop and an oven and you’re good to go.

It’s Easy: Once the initial prep work is done (which usually involves little more than some simple chopping and searing), the braise goes into the oven and does its thing. You can sit back, enjoy a glass of wine and a few hours later dinner will be ready.

It’s Delicious: The results achieved from low-and-slow cooking are always impressive. The meat becomes meltingly tender and the resulting juices can be reduced to make a silky, luxurious sauce.

It’s Versatile: The basic technique of braising (sear the meat, add aromatics and liquid, cover and cook on low heat) can be adapted to work with almost any kind of meat or vegetable. The finished product can usually be used in a number of ways, from taco fillings to pasta sauces.

Bring the sauce to a boil and return the pork shoulder to the mixture.

Cover tightly and place in the oven for one hour. After one hour, remove the star anise points if desired (it is quite strong). Return the pot for another hour.

Check on the braise after the second hour. When done, it should be fork tender. Return to the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until completely tender and the meat is easy to shred.

Remove the pot from the oven and transfer to the stovetop. Carefully take the shoulder out of the liquid and set aside in a large bowl.

Strain the remaining sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepot. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce for about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a separate cup, combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch with 2 teaspoons cold water. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and free of lumps. Pour into the strained and reduced braising mixture.

Continue to boil for another five minute until the sauce begins to thicken slightly and is a bit glossy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve: Break off chunks of the pork shoulder with a fork. Pour the sauce liberally over the meat and garnish with green onions, if desired. It’s delicious over rice or noodles and accompanied by sautéed bok choy.

Note: The meat and sauce can be refrigerated overnight, making it easy to skim off any excess fat. The sauce will likely gel once cooled but will return to liquid once heated.

Bon Appétit and Enjoy!

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As many of you know, I recently returned from a trip to Piedmont, Italy. The fantastic food and wine of the region has inspired me so I’ve been working on my own interpretation of recipes that reflect the foods of the region using ingredients that are accessible to North American cooks.

A popular dish in the Piedmont region is Brasato al Barolo, which is beef braised in Barolo wine. Unfortunately, Barolos can be quite expensive so you can easily substitute any inexpensive dry red wine, as long as it’s decent enough to drink. I used a bottle of Cantina Terre del Barolo Barbera d’Alba 2008, which retails for $13.95 in Ontario. Luckily, the recipe only calls for two cups so you’ll have the rest of the bottle to enjoy with dinner! I call for short ribs because they braise beautifully, resulting in a tender and flavourful dish.

To build flavour and add umami to the dish, I’ve used porcini powder. Porcini are mushrooms that grow abundantly in Italy and are common in many Italian dishes. Unfortunately, fresh porcini are often difficult to find in North American stores because they are very perishable. However, many stores sell packages of dried porcini (I’ve seen them at gourmet stores, Italian specialty shops, some supermarkets and fruit and vegetable markets). It’s very easy to make porcini powder from dried mushrooms: just add a few to a mortar and use the pestle to grind them to a powder (if you don’t have a mortar-and-pestle, just crush them with a rolling pin or the flat side of a large knife). Extra powder can be kept in a sealed container and used in soups, stews or pasta sauces.

Porcini powder is easy to make with dried mushrooms and a mortar-and-pestle

A Note About Authenticity: Italians typically serve Brasato al Barolo with polenta instead of pasta (pasta is usually served as a separate first course). However, egg noodles are delicious with the sauce, creating a rich and hearty main dish. Look for long, flat noodles made with eggs. The beef will taste even better after a day or two so plan ahead and make extras! Leftover shredded meat also makes a great filling for ravioli or agnolotti.

Pappardelle is delicious with wine-braised beef

Barolo-Braised Beef with Pappardelle

Makes about 6 servings

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 large meaty bone-in beef short ribs, each weighing about 10 to 12 ounces (300 to 340 grams)

Pat the short ribs dry with clean paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. In an enameled cast iron pot (5.5 quarts or larger) or oven proof pot with a lid, add the olive oil and heat on medium-high.

Add the short ribs. Let the ribs brown, about three to four minutes per side. Turn the ribs so that all sides brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.

Add the bacon to the pot and sauté until it’s beginning to crisp. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about five minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste. Add the flour and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan. Pour in the wine, beef broth and coffee.

Add the herbs and the porcini powder, stirring to combine. Return the browned short ribs to the pot.

Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and place the lid on the pot. Put the pot into a preheated oven (350F). Cook for two hours.

Check on the ribs after two hours. Stir to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Check on them again after 30 minutes – the ribs should be getting very tender and almost falling off the bone. Spoon some liquid over them (you can add another 1/2 cup of stock if the sauce is getting low). Return to the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes or until they are fork-tender and falling off the bone.

Remove the pot from the oven. Use tongs to extract the ribs from the sauce. Place them in a bowl and set aside. Strain the sauce into a large sauce pan, using a large spoon to press all of the liquid through a strainer. Heat the sauce on medium-low heat. Spoon off as much fat from the top of the sauce as possible (you can also cool the sauce overnight – the fat will harden and can easily be removed).

Place the cooked ribs on a cutting board. Remove any bones, fat and connective tissues and discard. Use two fork to shred the meat. Chop the meat into bite sized pieces and return the meat to the pot of simmering sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and heat through while preparing the pasta.

Cook the pappardelle or other egg noodles according to package directions (usually about 6 minutes). Drain well. Toss the pasta with the braised meat and sauce and top with shaved parmesan cheese before serving.

Bon Appétit and Enjoy!

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St. Patrick’s Day is a great day to celebrate all things Irish, whether you have Irish roots or not. Guinness stew may be a bit of a cliché but it’s easy, delicious and very economical. This recipe requires some time to prep the ingredients (there are a lot of vegetables to be chopped) but once everything is in the pot your work is pretty much done. If you’re entertaining, it tastes even better the day after you make it. Serve with mashed potatoes, some soda bread and of course, a pint of Guinness.

This particular recipe is a bit of a hybrid – it’s a cross between a traditional Irish stew and a French Beef Bourguinon. Pearl onions can sometimes be found with the frozen foods or you can peel fresh ones. When selecting turnip, be sure to use actual turnip and not rutabaga, which is more bitter tasting and much harder to peel. The chive sour cream is optional but it adds a nice finishing touch to the stew.

In a large bowl, toss cubes of stewing beef with flour until all pieces are coated. Set aside.

Heat a stockpot or enameled cast iron pot on medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp and browned, about 8 minutes. Remove bacon bits with a slotted spoon and set aside. Do not drain bacon fat from the pot.

Add beef cubes, diced onions, celery and garlic to the bacon fat. Sauté until the beef is browned and vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add carrot chunks, parsnips and turnip. Stir mixture and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add thyme and rosemary and stir until combined.

Braising is the perfect cooking method for cold winter days. It’s a technique that involves searing meat in oil, adding a small amount of liquid and cooking in a covered vessel at a lower temperature for a long period of time. Tough cuts of meat become tender and juicy and a rich sauce develops. Although preparing a slow cooked braise requires some planning ahead and prep work, once it’s in the oven you can sit back and relax for a few hours. This dish is ideal for entertaining because it tastes even better the next day. Just reheat and serve with your favourite side dishes.

This recipe has been adapted from the short rib recipe at Balthazar restaurant in New York City. It’s a French brasserie serving up such classics as steak frites and mussels. The ribs pair well with mashed potatoes and sautéed winter greens such as swiss chard.

The secret to success with this dish is to use the meatiest short ribs you can find. If you can’t find ones that are large and marbled with fat, increase the number of ribs used and reduce the cooking time slightly. The recipe makes enough for 4 but it can easily be doubled. Plus, it’s so delicious, you’ll probably want to have some leftovers to enjoy!

Add wine, port and herbs. Turn heat to medium-high and simmer for about 10 minutes, until mixture begins to reduce. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and burning.

Add stock and return ribs to pot. Cover tightly and put in the oven. Cook for 3 hours, checking on them each hour to ensure nothing is burning at the bottom of the pot. The meat should be very tender.

Once the ribs are done, use tongs to remove the ribs from the sauce. Place meat in a bowl and set aside. With a mesh strainer or cheesecloth-lined colander, strain sauce into a saucepan, pressing on solids to extract all liquid. Discard solids.

Bring strained sauce to a boil and reduce for about 10 minutes. Pour sauce over ribs and serve.

Braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and a rosemary sprig garnish

Bon Appétit and Enjoy!

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